Tailoring content to be delivered to mobile device based upon features of mobile device

ABSTRACT

A method for delivering tailored specific content to a mobile device. A shim application is provided to the mobile device by a content server after the mobile device visits the content server for the first time. The shim application detects the capabilities of the mobile device, such as the screen size, screen resolution, memory size, browser capabilities, etc. The shim application then includes such information in the header of the requests, such as a request for content, sent from the mobile device to the content server. The content server then generates the requested content in the appropriate format based on the information provided in the header. In this manner, the content server will now be able to ensure that the content provided by the content server for a particular mobile device will be appropriately displayed on the mobile device.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

The present application is a continuation application of pending U.S.patent application Ser. No. 13/193,810, which was filed on Jul. 29,2011, which is assigned to the assignee of the present invention. Thepresent application claims priority benefits to U.S. patent applicationSer. No. 13/193,810.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention relates to mobile communications, and moreparticularly to tailoring the content delivered to a mobile device basedupon the features of the mobile device.

BACKGROUND

In the marketplace, there are currently numerous different types ofmobile devices. Mobile devices include mobile or cellular phones, smartphones, personal digital assistants (“PDAs”), palmtop computers, laptopcomputers and the like. These mobile devices function as wirelesscommunication devices via a wireless communication link (GSM, GRPS, 3G,CSMA and the like) and access content over a wireless networkinfrastructure.

Each of these mobile devices may include different variations andfeatures, such as web browser(s), as part of their platform. As aresult, there may be difficulty in delivering content in an appropriateformat to a great number of these mobile devices due to their varyingfeatures, such as varying mobile web browsers. For example, the contentmay not be able to be rendered appropriately on some of these mobiledevices since the content provider may not be transmitting content in aformat compliant with their web browsers.

The World Wide Web Consortium (“W3C”) has attempted to address thisproblem by adopting the Composite Capabilities/Preference Profile(“CC/PP”). The CC/PP is a specification for defining capabilities andpreferences of user agents, where a user agent may refer to a clientapplication implementing a network protocol used in communicationswithin a client-server distributed computing system. With the CC/PP, arepository is created that maps the user agent to a set of features thatare supported for that mobile device. However, the repository must beconstantly updated in order to ensure that the mapping is up-to-date.

An additional attempt to address the difficulty in delivering content inan appropriate format to a great number of mobile devices with varyingfeatures is to have the mobile devices contain all of the possiblelibraries for the various mobile browser vendors thereby ensuring thatthe content is rendered on the mobile device appropriately. However,requiring the mobile devices to contain all of the possible librariesfor the various mobile browser vendors is burdensome. Furthermore, thelibraries would constantly need to be updated to ensure they areup-to-date.

Hence, there has not been an effective solution to delivering content inan appropriate format to a great number of mobile devices due to theirvarying features, such as varying mobile web browsers.

BRIEF SUMMARY

In one embodiment of the present invention, a method for deliveringtailored specific content to a mobile device comprises providing a shimapplication to the mobile device, where the shim application detectscapabilities of the mobile device. The method further comprisesreceiving a request for content, where the request comprises headerinformation providing the capabilities of the mobile device.Additionally, the method comprises generating the content in a formatcompliant to the mobile device based on the header information. Inaddition, the method comprises transmitting, by a processor, thegenerated content to the mobile device.

The foregoing has outlined rather generally the features and technicaladvantages of one or more embodiments of the present invention in orderthat the detailed description of the present invention that follows maybe better understood. Additional features and advantages of the presentinvention will be described hereinafter which may form the subject ofthe claims of the present invention.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWINGS

A better understanding of the present invention can be obtained when thefollowing detailed description is considered in conjunction with thefollowing drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 illustrates an embodiment of the present invention of a networksystem;

FIG. 2 illustrates a hardware configuration of a mobile device inaccordance with an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 3 illustrates a hardware configuration of a content server inaccordance with an embodiment of the present invention; and

FIG. 4 is a flowchart of a method for delivering tailored specificcontent to a mobile device in accordance with an embodiment of thepresent invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The present invention comprises a method, system and computer programproduct for delivering tailored specific content to a mobile device. Inone embodiment of the present invention, a shim application is providedto the mobile device by a content server after the mobile device visitsthe content server for the first time. The shim application detects thecapabilities of the mobile device, such as the screen size, screenresolution, memory size, browser capabilities, etc. The shim applicationthen includes such information in the header of the requests, such as arequest for content, sent from the mobile device to the content server.The content server then generates the requested content in theappropriate format based on the information provided in the header. Inthis manner, the content server will now be able to ensure that thecontent provided by the content server for a particular mobile devicewill be appropriately displayed on the mobile device.

In the following description, numerous specific details are set forth toprovide a thorough understanding of the present invention. However, itwill be apparent to those skilled in the art that the present inventionmay be practiced without such specific details. In other instances,well-known circuits have been shown in block diagram form in order notto obscure the present invention in unnecessary detail. For the mostpart, details considering timing considerations and the like have beenomitted inasmuch as such details are not necessary to obtain a completeunderstanding of the present invention and are within the skills ofpersons of ordinary skill in the relevant art.

Referring now to the Figures in detail, FIG. 1 illustrates a networksystem 100 configured in accordance with an embodiment of the presentinvention. Network system 100 includes mobile devices 101A-101C(identified as “Mobile Device A,” “Mobile Device B,” and “Mobile DeviceC,” respectively, in FIG. 1). Mobile devices 101A-101C may collectivelyor individually be referred to as mobile devices 101 or mobile device101, respectively. Mobile device 101 may be any mobile computing device,including, but not limited to, a mobile phone, a cellular phone, asmart-phone, a personal digital assistance (PDA), a gaming unit, aportable computing unit, tablet personal computer, and the like. System100 may include any number of mobile devices 101 and the depiction ofthree mobile devices 101A-101C in FIG. 1 is for illustrative purposes. Adescription of one embodiment of the hardware configuration of mobiledevice 101 is provided below in connection with FIG. 2.

Mobile devices 101 are in wireless communication with a content server102 via a network 103, which may be, for example, a wireless wide areanetwork, a circuit-switched telephone network, a Global System forMobile Communications (GSM) network, Wireless Application Protocol (WAP)network, a WiFi network, an IEEE 802.11 standards network, variouscombinations thereof, etc. Other networks, whose descriptions areomitted here for brevity, may also be used in conjunction with system100 of FIG. 1 without departing from the scope of the present invention.

Content server 102 is configured to receive and provide services andinformation to mobile devices 101. In particular, content server 102 isconfigured to receive a request for content from mobile device 101 andto ensure that the content is formatted in a format compliant for mobiledevice 101 based on header information provided by a shim application asdiscussed further below. A description of one embodiment of the hardwareconfiguration of content server 102 is provided below in connection withFIG. 3.

While FIG. 1 illustrates a single content server 102, the principles ofthe present invention are not so constrained. For example, content maybe served from a plurality of content servers, including a contentserver farm, a distributed server architecture, and the like, withoutdeparting from the scope and spirit of the described embodiments.

Referring now to FIG. 2, FIG. 2 illustrates a hardware configuration ofmobile device 101 which is representative of a hardware environment forpracticing the present invention. Referring to FIG. 2, mobile device 101has a processor 201 coupled to various other components by system bus202. An operating system 203 runs on processor 201 and provides controland coordinates the functions of the various components of FIG. 2. Anapplication 204 in accordance with the principles of the presentinvention runs in conjunction with operating system 203 and providescalls to operating system 203 where the calls implement the variousfunctions or services to be performed by application 204. Application204 may include, for example, a browser, an application shim provided bycontent server 102 (FIG. 2) used to detect the capabilities (e.g.,screen size, screen resolution, memory size, browser capabilities) ofmobile device 101, as discussed further below in association with FIG.4.

Referring again to FIG. 2, read-only memory (“ROM”) 205 is coupled tosystem bus 202 and includes a basic input/output system (“BIOS”) thatcontrols certain basic functions of mobile device 101. Random accessmemory (“RAM”) 206 and disk adapter 207 are also coupled to system bus202. It should be noted that software components including operatingsystem 203 and application 204 may be loaded into RAM 206, which may bemobile device's 101 main memory for execution. Disk adapter 207 may bean integrated drive electronics (“IDE”) adapter that communicates with adisk unit 208, e.g., disk drive.

Mobile device 101 may further include a communications adapter 209coupled to bus 202. Communications adapter 209 interconnects bus 202with an outside network (network 103) thereby enabling mobile device 101to communicate with content server 102.

I/O devices may also be connected to mobile device 101 via a userinterface adapter 210 and a display adapter 211. Keyboard 212, mouse 213and speaker 214 may all be interconnected to bus 202 through userinterface adapter 210. Data may be inputted to mobile device 101 throughany of these devices. A display monitor 215 may be connected to systembus 202 by display adapter 211. In this manner, a user is capable ofinputting to mobile device 101 through keyboard 212 or mouse 213 andreceiving output from mobile device 101 via display 215 or speaker 214.

As stated above, FIG. 3 illustrates a hardware configuration of acontent server 102 (FIG. 1) which is representative of a hardwareenvironment for practicing the present invention. Referring to FIG. 3,content server 102 has a processor 301 coupled to various othercomponents by system bus 302. An operating system 303 runs on processor301 and provides control and coordinates the functions of the variouscomponents of FIG. 3. An application 304 in accordance with theprinciples of the present invention runs in conjunction with operatingsystem 303 and provides calls to operating system 303 where the callsimplement the various functions or services to be performed byapplication 304. Application 304 may include, for example, a program fordelivering tailored specific content to mobile device 101, as discussedfurther below in association with FIG. 4.

Referring again to FIG. 3, read-only memory (“ROM”) 305 is coupled tosystem bus 302 and includes a basic input/output system (“BIOS”) thatcontrols certain basic functions of content server 102. Random accessmemory (“RAM”) 306 and disk adapter 307 are also coupled to system bus302. It should be noted that software components including operatingsystem 303 and application 304 may be loaded into RAM 306, which may becontent server's 102 main memory for execution. Disk adapter 307 may bean integrated drive electronics (“IDE”) adapter that communicates with adisk unit 308, e.g., disk drive. It is noted that the program fordelivering tailored specific content to mobile device 101, as discussedfurther below in association with FIG. 4, may reside in disk unit 308 orin application 304.

Content server 102 may further include a communications adapter 309coupled to bus 302. Communications adapter 309 interconnects bus 302with an outside network (network 103) thereby allowing content server102 to communicate with mobile devices 101.

As will be appreciated by one skilled in the art, aspects of the presentinvention may be embodied as a system, method or computer programproduct. Accordingly, aspects of the present invention may take the formof an entirely hardware embodiment, an entirely software embodiment(including firmware, resident software, micro-code, etc.) or anembodiment combining software and hardware aspects that may allgenerally be referred to herein as a “circuit,” “module” or “system.”Furthermore, aspects of the present invention may take the form of acomputer program product embodied in one or more computer readablemedium(s) having computer readable program code embodied thereon.

Any combination of one or more computer readable medium(s) may beutilized. The computer readable medium may be a computer readable signalmedium or a computer readable storage medium. A computer readablestorage medium may be, for example, but not limited to, an electronic,magnetic, optical, electromagnetic, infrared, or semiconductor system,apparatus, or device, or any suitable combination of the foregoing. Morespecific examples (a non-exhaustive list) of the computer readablestorage medium would include the following: an electrical connectionhaving one or more wires, a portable computer diskette, a hard disk, arandom access memory (RAM), a read-only memory (ROM), an erasableprogrammable read-only memory (EPROM or flash memory), a portablecompact disc read-only memory (CD-ROM), an optical storage device, amagnetic storage device, or any suitable combination of the foregoing.In the context of this document, a computer readable storage medium maybe any tangible medium that can contain, or store a program for use byor in connection with an instruction execution system, apparatus, ordevice.

A computer readable signal medium may include a propagated data signalwith computer readable program code embodied therein, for example, inbaseband or as part of a carrier wave. Such a propagated signal may takeany of a variety of forms, including, but not limited to,electro-magnetic, optical, or any suitable combination thereof. Acomputer readable signal medium may be any computer readable medium thatis not a computer readable storage medium and that can communicate,propagate, or transport a program for use by or in connection with aninstruction execution system, apparatus or device.

Program code embodied on a computer readable medium may be transmittedusing any appropriate medium, including but not limited to wireless,wireline, optical fiber cable, RF, etc., or any suitable combination ofthe foregoing.

Computer program code for carrying out operations for aspects of thepresent invention may be written in any combination of one or moreprogramming languages, including an object oriented programming languagesuch as Java, Smalltalk, C++ or the like and conventional proceduralprogramming languages, such as the C programming language or similarprogramming languages. The program code may execute entirely on theuser's computer, partly on the user's computer, as a stand-alonesoftware package, partly on the user's computer and partly on a remotecomputer or entirely on the remote computer or server. In the latterscenario, the remote computer may be connected to the user's computerthrough any type of network, including a local area network (LAN) or awide area network (WAN), or the connection may be made to an externalcomputer (for example, through the Internet using an Internet ServiceProvider).

Aspects of the present invention are described below with reference toflowchart illustrations and/or block diagrams of methods, apparatus(systems) and computer program products according to embodiments of thepresent invention. It will be understood that each block of theflowchart illustrations and/or block diagrams, and combinations ofblocks in the flowchart illustrations and/or block diagrams, can beimplemented by computer program instructions. These computer programinstructions may be provided to a processor of a general purposecomputer, special purpose computer, or other programmable dataprocessing apparatus to product a machine, such that the instructions,which execute via the processor of the computer or other programmabledata processing apparatus, create means for implementing thefunction/acts specified in the flowchart and/or block diagram block orblocks.

These computer program instructions may also be stored in a computerreadable medium that can direct a computer, other programmable dataprocessing apparatus, or other devices to function in a particularmanner, such that the instructions stored in the computer readablemedium produce an article of manufacture including instructions whichimplement the function/act specified in the flowchart and/or blockdiagram block or blocks.

The computer program instructions may also be loaded onto a computer,other programmable data processing apparatus, or other devices to causea series of operational steps to be performed on the computer, otherprogrammable apparatus or other devices to produce a computerimplemented process such that the instructions which execute on thecomputer or other programmable apparatus provide processes forimplementing the function/acts specified in the flowchart and/or blockdiagram block or blocks.

As stated in the Background section, mobile devices may includedifferent variations and features, such as web browser(s), as part oftheir platform. As a result, there may be difficulty in deliveringcontent in an appropriate format to a great number of these mobiledevices due to their varying features, such as varying mobile webbrowsers. For example, the content may not be able to be renderedappropriately on some of these mobile devices since the content providermay not be transmitting content in a format compliant with their webbrowsers. Currently, there has not been an effective solution todelivering content in an appropriate format to a great number of mobiledevices due to their varying features, such as varying mobile webbrowsers.

The principles of the present invention provide an improved techniquefor delivering content in an appropriate format to various mobiledevices with varying platforms by having the content server deliverspecifically tailored content to each mobile device as discussed belowin connection with FIG. 4. FIG. 4 is a flowchart of a method fordelivering tailored specific content to a mobile device.

As stated above, FIG. 4 is flowchart of a method for delivering tailoredspecific content to a mobile device 101 (FIGS. 1 and 2) in accordancewith an embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 4, in conjunction with FIGS. 1-3, in step 401, contentserver 102 detects a visit to server 102 by mobile device 101.

In step 402, a determination is made by server 102 as to whether thevisit by mobile device 101 is a first time visit. If the visit is not afirst time visit, then content sever 102 continues to monitor a visit bya subsequent mobile device 101 in step 401.

If, however, content server 102 detects a first time visit by mobiledevice 101, then, in step 403, content server 102 provides a shimapplication to mobile device 101. A shim application refers to a smalllibrary which transparently intercepts an application programminginterface of mobile device 101, changes the parameters passed, handlesthe operation itself or redirects the operation elsewhere. “Providingthe shim application,” as used herein, includes any means for the shimapplication to be provided to mobile device 101, including havingcontent server 102 directly transmit the shim application to mobiledevice 101 as well as having content server 102 transmit a link to awebsite to download the shim application. In one embodiment, the shimapplication will be specific to mobile device 101 and will act as aclient side proxy application. In one embodiment, the shim applicationwill be configured as part of the installation.

In step 404, the user of mobile device 101 installs the shim applicationon mobile device 101. Once installed, in step 405, the shim applicationwill detect the capabilities of mobile device 101. For example, the shimapplication can detect one or more of the following capabilities: screensize, screen resolution, memory size, browser capabilities, and thelike. This list is not intended to be limiting but to provide examplesof information that may be used to determine the capabilities of mobiledevice 101 so that content server 102 appropriately formats the contentto be appropriately displayed on mobile device 101. Embodiments of thepresent invention cover any such information regarding the capabilitiesof mobile device 101 that may be used by content server 102 toappropriately format the content to be appropriately displayed on mobiledevice 101.

In step 406, the information regarding the capabilities of mobile device101 detected by the shim application is stored in a cache (not shown inFIG. 2) of mobile device 101. The cache may be located internal withinprocessor 201 or located external to processor 201. The cache may be anytype of cache (e.g., physically indexed, physically tagged; virtuallyindexed, virtually tagged; virtually indexed, physically tagged).

In step 407, content server 102 receives a request for content frommobile device 101, where the request includes header information thatprovides content server 102 with the features or capabilities mobiledevice 101 supports, such as the capabilities detected in step 405. Inone embodiment, the shim application adds the header information to thebeginning of the data (i.e., request) being transmitted to contentserver 102, where the header information is obtained from the cache ofmobile device 101.

In step 408, content server 102 processes the request. In step 409,content server 102 generates specific content to be delivered to mobiledevice 101 based on the received header information thereby ensuringthat the content is formatted in a manner so that it will beappropriately displayed on mobile device 101. By content server 102receiving information regarding the capabilities of mobile device 101via the header information, content server 102 will now be able toensure that the content provided by content server 102 for a particularmobile device 101 will be appropriately displayed on mobile device 101.

In step 410, content server 102 transmits the content generated in step409 to mobile device 101.

In some implementations, method 400 may include other and/or additionalsteps that, for clarity, are not depicted. Further, in someimplementations, method 400 may be executed in a different orderpresented and that the order presented in the discussion of FIG. 4 isillustrative. Additionally, in some implementations, certain steps inmethod 400 may be executed in a substantially simultaneous manner or maybe omitted.

An example of a program using the principles of the present inventionincludes a program for generating charts and gauges which can begenerated either on the client-side or on the server-side. Thedetermination as to whether the program generates the charts and gaugeson either the client-side or on the server-side can be determined basedon the memory capabilities of mobile device 101, which is obtained fromthe shim application.

The descriptions of the various embodiments of the present inventionhave been presented for purposes of illustration, but are not intendedto be exhaustive or limited to the embodiments disclosed. Manymodifications and variations will be apparent to those of ordinary skillin the art without departing from the scope and spirit of the describedembodiments. The terminology used herein was chosen to best explain theprinciples of the embodiments, the practical application or technicalimprovement over technologies found in the marketplace, or to enableothers of ordinary skill in the art to understand the embodimentsdisclosed herein.

The invention claimed is:
 1. A method for delivering tailored specific content to a mobile device, the method comprising: providing a shim application to said mobile device, wherein said shim application detects capabilities of said mobile device; receiving a request for content, wherein said request comprises header information providing said capabilities of said mobile device; generating said content in a format compliant to said mobile device based on said header information; and transmitting, by a processor, said generated content to said mobile device.
 2. The method as recited in claim 1, wherein said capabilities comprise browser capabilities.
 3. The method as recited in claim 1, wherein said capabilities comprise one or more of the following: screen size, screen resolution and memory size.
 4. The method as recited in claim 1 further comprising: detecting a first time visit by said mobile device, wherein said shim application is provided to said mobile device in response to detecting said first time visit by said mobile device.
 5. The method as recited in claim 1, wherein said capabilities detected by said shim application are stored in a cache of said mobile device.
 6. The method as recited in claim 1, wherein said shim application is provided to said mobile device by transmitting a link to a website to download said shim application. 